Recording-machine.



Patented Apr. 24,1917.

WITNESSES ATTORN EYS UNITED sTAr srarENr OFFICE.

CLYDE GARDNER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 BURROUGHS ADDINGMACHINE COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

RECORDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Application filed August 15, 1916. Serial No. 115,114.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE GARDNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county of \Vayne and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Recording-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved form ofmeans for signaling or giving warning when the end of an inserted sheetof paper is about to be reached, the invention being intended primarilyforv use in connection with adding and listing machines though it may beemployed in other connections. By my invention I accomplish thedesirable purpose of having the passageway for the paper normally freeso that when a sheet of paper is to be inserted it is not necessary toretract the feeler of the sheet-end Warning equipment.

In the drawings which accompany and form part of this specificationFigure 1 represents in vertical cross-section the rear portionof afamiliar make of adding and listingv machine with mechanism appliedthereto embodying my present invention; Fig. 2

' is a similar view though not including as many parts andalsodifi'ering from Fig. 1 in showing the changed relationship of partsdue to the passing of the sheet of paper andv subsequent operationof theadding machine; Fig. 3 is a partial rear elevation and partialcross-section of parts appearingin Fig. 1.

The reference numeral 1 designates the roller platen of the addingmachine which platen is journaled between side pieces 2 of a laterallyshiftable carriage 3. The numeral 4 designates a feed ratchet on thesaid platen, and 5 afeed pawl pivotally mounted upon andspring-connected with a rocking bail 6. The reference numeral 7designates a rocking arm which is a familiar element of theabove-mentioned make of adding machine and operates upon a stud 8 ofsaid paper feed bail.- The latter is as usual actuated in one directionby a spring 9. The

' or carriage back for supporting the inserted sheet of paper which liesagainst it as it passes down in rear of the roller platen. In

the drawings the reference letter. P designates a sheet of paper whichin Fig. 1 is shown as having been fed to a considerable extent but notquite far enough to bring into action the signaling means. Thus it stillcovers a slot or opening 10 in the apron. At this point the paper passesbehind an angular plate 11 which is secured by suitable ears and screwsto the sides 2 of the paper carriage and forms with the apron 10 a chuteto receive the sheet of paper. A 1

portion of this plate 11 is parallel with and closely adjacent to theapron 10 and this portion of the plate is slotted as shown at 11- inline with the slot 10 of the apron. The paper is backed up by this plate11 around the slots so as to be able to hold back the feeler of thesignal ing means.

The feeler is in the form of a finger 12 registering with the said slotsand secured at its upper end to a rock shaft 13. It is of angular formprojecting downwardly from said shaft and thence inclined forwardly andat its terminal portion being substantially horizontal. Its extremitynormally stands in the slot 10 but does not protrude through it, so thatthe passageway for the paper into the chute and on to the platen is notobstructed. There is also secured to the shaft 13 a depending arm 14,and there is loosely hung upon said shaft adjacent said arm a second arm15 which projects somewhat farther downward. The two-arms are connectedtogether by a spring 16 and norout that bail is normally held up by therocking arm 7 as illustrated in Fig. 1. This means that the said finger6 is normally held forward and consequently the upper arm of the bellcrank lever 17 is held rearward and the feeler finger 12 correspondinglyheld back.

It will be understood that the restraint thus imposed upon the feelerfinger is removed as soon as the machine is operated because thisinvolves rocking of the arm 7 in a counter-clockwise direction and thepulling down of the feed bail by the spring 1) and corresponding retreatof the finger 6 from the bell crank stud 17*. I combine in one simpleset of devices means for applying force to swing the feeler fingerforward and means for soundin an alarm under actuation by the said ballfinger 6. Thus I pivot at 20 upon a fixed circular disk 21 a cam lever22 and a bell-striker lever 23. The cam lev'er bears upon a stud 15' atthe lower end of the aforesaid pendent arm 15 and a spring 25 whichconnects the cam lever and striking lever tends to swing the formerforward and correspondingly swing forward the said arm 15 and the feelerfinger. Such action is normally blocked by engagement of the stud 1'2with the bail finger 6, as before mentioned. When that restraint isremoved, as

the machine starts to operate, then the spring 25 takes effect but ifthe sheet of paper is not advanced far enough to uncover the slot 10 theonly result is to press the extremity of the feeler finger 12 againstthe paper and the relative position of parts would still besubstantially as shown in Fig. 1. If, however, the sheet of paper has,advanced so far as to uncover said slot, then when the feed bail swingsdown the feeler finger will be projected through the slot and on throughthe slot 11 of the plate 11 and into contact with the roller platen asillustrated in Fig. 2. The dotted lines in this figure illustrate theposition assumed by the cam lever 22 prior to the return forward of thebail finger 6 and it will be noted that correspondin dotted lines showthe striker lever 23 in t e same position it has in Fig. 1. The spring25 is attached to an arm of the cam lever 22 which has a lateral lug 22which lug lands against the edge of a cutout portion of the strikerlever 23 when the spring 25 acts. A spring 30 is secured at one end tothe stationary disk 21 and at the other to an arm 23 of the strikerlever and normally holds the latter in the position shown in Fig. 1 withsaid arm against a stop lug 21* on said disk 21.

The swinging of the cam lever 22 by its spring 25 brings its lower endinto the path of movement of the bail finger 6 Consequently when thelatter swings forward as the operation of the machine proceeds, it willact upon the cam lever in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 and retractthe striker lever and then pass by and operate upon the stud 17 torestore the feeler finger to its normal position. The action of the bailfinger upon the cam lever involves some further forward movement of thearm 15 and this is the occasion for yieldingly connecting that arm withthe feeler finger through the medium of the spring 16 as hereinbeforedescribed.

The circular disk 21 is riveted to a plate 31 supported by the shaft 18and another shaft or cross rod 32 and the plate and disk support a bell40 within which the striker lever 23 is located. The striker 26 isloosely mounted upon said lever 23 so as to provide for rebound and aneffective sounding of the hell. It will of course be understood thatwhen the bail finger 6 operates u on the cam lever 22 the spring 30 isstretc ed and then when said finger passes by the end of the cam leversaid spring acts to throw the striker against the bell and give thealarm.

I claim:

1. The combination of paper-holding means, a feeler adapted to beobstructed by the paper, means normally holding said feeler back fromthe paper s ace, means for intermittently freeing the eeler, andsignaling means set by the feeler when so freed and when alsounobstructed by the paper.

2. The combination of paper-holding means, a vibratory feeler adapted tobe obstructed by the paper, means tending to force the feeler intocontact with the paper, a reciprocating paper-feed element normallyholding the feeler back from the paper space, and signalin means set asan incident to the freeing o the feeler from such restraint and operatedby said paperfeed element.

3. The combination of apertured paperholding means, a vibratoryfeeler-finger alined with the aperture thereof, an operating arm forsaid finger, a spring-actuated lever engaging said arm and tending toproject the finger through the aperture, a rocking member opposing thespring, a reciprocating paper-feed element normally backing up saidmember, and signaling means operated by said element through the mediumof said spring-actuated lever when the latter has projected thefeeler-finger into space vacated by the paper.

4. The combination, of apertured paper-- holding means, a vibratoryfeeler-finger alined with the aperture thereof, an operating, arm forsaid finger, a spring-actuated lever engaging said arm and tending toproject the finger through the aperture, a rocking member opposing thespring, a reciprocating paper-feed element normally backing up saidmember, and a spring-actuated signaling element engaged by saidspring-actuated lever, the latter adapted to be flipped by thefeed-element to retract and release said signaling element when thelever has projected the feeler-finger into space vacated by the paper.

5. The combination of apertured paperholding means, a vibratoryfeeler-finger alined with the aperture thereof, an operating arm forsaid finger, a spring-actuated lever engaging said arm and tending toproject the finger through the aperture, a rocking member opposing thespring, a reciproeating paper-feed element normally backing up saidmember, a bell, and a springactuated striker engaged by saidspring-actuated lever, the latter adapted to be flipped by thefeed-element to retract and release the said striker when the lever hasprojected the 'feeler-finger into space vacated by the paper.

6. The combination of apertured paperholding means, a vibratoryfeeler-finger alined with the aperture thereof, an operating armyieldingly connected to said finger, a spring-actuated lever engagingsaid arm and tending to project the finger through 5 the aperture, arocking member opposing the spring, a reciprocating paper-feed elementnormally backing up said member, and signaling means operated by saidelement through the medium of said spring-actuated 20 lever When thelatter has pro ected the feeler-finger into space vacated by the paper.

CLYDE GARDNER.

